MOUNTULLA — West Rowan fullback Ben Hampton still doesn’t see a football player when he looks in the mirror, but he’d get an argument on that from his head coach, Scott Young, his teammates and most importantly, from all 11 teams on the Falcons’ schedule.

Hampton’s had the ball in his hands 22 times in the Falcons’ first five games. Those 22 touches — 16 carries and six pass receptions — have resulted in 306 yards (14 yards per play) and five touchdowns. Not bad work for a kid who daydreams about grand slams — not about slamming into linebackers.

“I love both baseball and football,” says Hampton, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior. “But there’s just something about baseball. My dad and grandpa got me going in baseball before I was 5. Baseball’s always been my game.”

Hampton is, by any measure, one heck of a baseball player. A lefty-hitting catcher with rare power, he made the All-County team last spring and figures to be a fixture his next two years as well.

He also won the starting first base job for the Rowan County American Legion team last summer as a 15-year-old. That doesn’t exactly happen every day.

But Rowan sports fans have also been enthused about Hampton’s football potential since he was old enough to put on pads. Because Hampton is strong, tough and much faster than people realize. Young says Hampton’s 40 times are in the “low 4.7s.”

Last Friday, the fans who braved the wet conditions at the West stadium for the Falcons’ 50-7 romp over East Rowan got a first-hand look at what Hampton is capable of. He scored three TDs — one on an acrobatic, juggling catch — and added a two-point conversion for good measure. Suddenly, his name has appeared among the county scoring leaders with 34 points.

“I was amazed,” Hampton said. “I never thought a game like Friday would happen. We even had the ugly play of the night (on which quarterback Jared Barnette was in trouble and two-handed the ball forward to Hampton) get 30 yards. I thought I was going to get drilled on that one, but then (Jonathan) Diggs and the offensive line made great blocks.”

Young, on the other hand, is not amazed at anything Hampton does.

“We all know about Ben and we all know about that potential,” said Young. “Friday night, Ben broke out. He showed up and it couldn’t have been at a better time with the games we’ve got coming up (SPC powers Northwest Cabarrus, A.L. Brown and Concord). We need that kind of game from him every Friday the rest of the way. He’s a definite threat, someone people are going to have to account for.”

Technically a fullback, Hampton might line up just about anywhere in West’s multiple formations. But growing up, he lined up in just one place — quarterback. Uncle Ben’s has converted rice; Ben Hampton’s a converted quarterback.

“Honestly, I thought Ben would take over as our quarterback prior to the 1999 season,” said Young. “But Barnette (now a senior) was just so solid. Then we figured out that we could utilize Ben in other ways. He’s so smart and so talented. He can block, he can catch, he can run. I think he enjoys doing all those different things.”

Hampton is still listed as the team’s No. 2 quarterback and Young says he’d have full faith in him if Barnette went down. But Hampton isn’t exactly counting the minutes until he gets to call signals again.

“Jared is so accurate,” he said. “Me, I’m not that much of a passer. When I play quarterback, I’m either running the ball or handing off to somebody.”

Hampton’s athletic inspiration comes mostly from first cousin Danny Misenheimer, who won Rowan County Male Athlete of the Year honors for 1999-2000. Hampton and Misenheimer’s mothers are sisters and the boys are close as brothers.

“Danny was all-everything there was for four years,” says Hampton. “He’s been a big role model for me as far as lifting weights and working hard. I try to follow in his footsteps as much as I can.”

Hampton lacks the mass and sheer strength that Misenheimer used to dominate three sports, but he’s well on his way to carving his own niche in the athletic world. His mark will probably be in baseball, but then again, football, where there’s much more scholarship money available, could be his ticket to college.

“It’s a lot of fun playing football on a team like we have here,” Hampton said. “Football keeps me in shape. It’s a whole lot better than sitting around on the couch waiting for baseball.”

And on that count, he’ll get no argument from anyone.